Speaker 1 (00:00):

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Hello and welcome to the county where we examine issues important to Baltimore County, Maryland. My name is Dory Henry, Chief of Staff for County Executive Johnny Olszewski. During this episode, I will be joined by the new County Administrative Officer D'Andrea Walker. She was appointed to the position by the County Executive and unanimously approved by the County Council in April. Prior to becoming Administrative Officer, D'Andrea served as the director of Baltimore County's Department of Public Works and Transportation. While there, she modernized programs and improved services, including bringing back residential bulk trash collection for the first time since 1992, announcing plans to significantly extend the life of the county's landfill and launching the Towson Loop. Baltimore County's first free locally operated transit service. Now as the county's newest administrative officer, she will oversee the day-to-day operations, as well as the efforts of the county's various departments. Madame AO, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
You have a distinguished career as a public servant. How have your previous roles prepared you for this position?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Over my three decades of working in government service, I think there's been several roles that have prepared me for this position. From the governor's office doing Board of Public Works, having a vast view of all of the state agencies and the procurements that came before the Board of Public Works and the importance of the Board of Public Works, to being Deputy Secretary of Department of General Services, being responsible for all of the many buildings here in the state, to working at the Motor Vehicle Administration and being responsible for operations of the 25 different branch locations. So I think I've been well prepared for the position that's before me today, and I'm excited about the challenges ahead.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
That's great. I think people often don't realize what it takes to run a government, especially a government the size of the one that Baltimore County has. We have a $5 billion annual budget and it takes a strong leader to be in charge of that effort. What has been the most challenging thing so far in your transition from director of DPWT to your new role as the County Administrative Officer?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
That's a very interesting question, Dory, and I don't know if challenging is the right word, it's been eye-opening to see in real time how many residents we actually affect the communication that we have with the residents on the daily, the decisions that are made by the executive office that impacts the lives of the residents. That has been, for me, most eye-opening, having come from Department of Public works, dealing with the infrastructure every day, but now I'm dealing with people's lives firsthand. And I have to remember every decision that I make affects somebody's life. Roads, buildings is one thing, but when you actually think about taxes, how people's money is being spent, making sure that we are providing clean water that hits a different spot sitting in this seat. So not necessarily a challenge, but a reality. A reality that the seat that I now sit in affects people's lives at a different level.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Right. And I often think that people don't realize often how much government touches their lives, because often the things that happen behind the scenes of their lives, like trash collection or road maintenance, or like you said, water, sewage, even, you know, funding the school system, sort of the decisions that get made, you know, they affect their lives on a daily basis, but they don't quite realize necessarily the connection between that day-to-day living and how those decisions were being made here in Towson, you know, that affect them. And I think, you know, it's so important, they obviously have a chance every four years to weigh in on who becomes the county executive or their member of the county council. But they don't quite realize how many people are sort of toiling away, really trying their best to make sure that everybody's daily lives go smoothly.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Yes. Even from homelessness, housing that has been, you know, I always did the infrastructure, but now you have to do the housing. Housing every day for residents is vitally important. Never thought about it going from one to the other. Every day is a little bit different. And when they say, you know, is any day like it was yesterday, I've been here four weeks now, no day was like yesterday. And there's always a new something. But to know that we have the staff that we have and to see how everything fits well as a puzzle and the decisions that the leadership has to make here, it's been really impressive. And it, it has been much smoother than I thought it would be for the first four weeks. So I'm excited about that. That's great.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
This county executive has often talked about building a better Baltimore County. What do you see as your goals for moving this county forward and continuing to improve, um, how we impact people's lives and, and how this county operates on behalf of the people who live here?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I think one of the top goals is to continue to be transparent, to continue to be intentional about how we make the decisions that we need to make and to continue to keep, the residents at the forefront as to why we need to make the decisions that we need to make. But being transparent, collaborative, and continue to have partnerships, I think will help us to continue to move the county in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
What's one thing that you would want Baltimore County residents to know about you?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
That I'm passionate about service. That, it hits me at my core, and that is why I sit in this seat, because I believe in service in general, right? But I'm honored to be able to provide service to the residents of Baltimore County. I've been able to do it for three decades, and it is in my core, even from the service organizations that I'm a part of. And that because of that, I have every intention of making sure that the decisions I make are always for keeping the residents first and foremost.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
So you obviously have a lot on your plate. You have long days at the office. What do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I like to travel, but I don't think I'll be traveling anytime soon. So, yeah, I like to travel. I like to travel with my husband. We typically take, one trip out of the country a year. I hope to be able to continue to do that. I think it provides me that much needed break to be able to take, you know, go out of the country and just spend some time with the family and the husband. But when I'm not spending time with the family and the husband, we're probably going to wineries and hanging out a little bit. So I, I believe in the work life balance and we're excited about, you know, our new life and in Baltimore County and Towson in particular. So I've been able to explore the festivals in Towson and the restaurants in Baltimore County. So we may not be able to go out the country, but we have a lot to explore in Baltimore County. We're excited about that.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
That's right. And Baltimore County has a few wineries. Yes. So you can go to some right here at home.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Right here at home.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Thank you for joining us. Thanks for listening to this episode of the County. This episode was produced with help from the Baltimore County Public Library Media Services. Tune in next time.